Metrification in Canada began in the early 1970's.
It's purpose was to fit in with most other countries in the world for making trade much easier as most countries used the metric system.
After that, the change became bumpy and complicated. There was opposition to this change. Programs to teach metrification were poorly designed. The education program emphasized converting the imperial measures to metric measures. This program was nuts. All you had to do was teach what the metric measures are. How much is a kilogram? How much is a centimeter? Just learn the metric measures.
Politics also got in the way. One party cancelled the program when it was abut half done.
Some of he imperial measurements were hard to change. The country was originally surveyed in miles. Land measurements were difficult to change although now land is being sold in hectares.
What bothers me is that our food sales are a confusing mixture of systems. The products are advertised and displayed with prices per pound. When it goes through the cash register it is calculated in metric. I would like one system used . It's very difficult to check your cashier slip when you have to make conversions in your head. And I do check my grocery slips very closely.
Now most of my followers are American. The U.S. has not changed to the metric system. I am surprised and pleased that most of my readers do not seem to have difficulty with the metric system. I used to give imperial in brackets after the metric measure. I quit doing that as people did not seem to have problem.
One of my favorites is Far Side of Fifty who gives the temperature in Imperial and then in brackets the celsius temperature with an EH?
So are people just not bothered by the use of metric or do they know enough of it that they understand what is being written about?
In this country we don't really have an excuse for not understanding the metric system and using it. I don't think in Fahrenheit anymore. I don't think in miles. I like milliliters and milligrams.
So who knows. Maybe before I die we will all get used to the metric system? Heh wait a minute. It's going to take much more time for all of us to get our heads around the metric system.
Metric came to Australia in about 1968 ( I suspect it was rolled out over time)
ReplyDeleteI was born in 71 so in my childhood imperial was used casually by almost everyone. It means I have a rough idea of both systems. It worked well for me
Both systems work for you and you don't convert one to another.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMaybe we have time to all learn the metric system. But, we will use it?
Take care, have a great new week.
It takes very little time to learn the metric system as long a there's not a competing system.
DeleteCanada is a mix of Imperial and Metric to be sure. The grandkids are more metric than we are in our family.
ReplyDeleteI think that gradually the English system will die out.
DeleteI am surprised with the young people who don't use metrics! We had tutorials in it in Teacher's College. It helped.
ReplyDeleteI think kids are pretty good with the metric system.
DeleteI am comfortable with both temperature systems, but I don’t know how many centimetres tall I am or what I weigh. I can approximate it if I think about it. I do remember when they came into my classroom and put red numbers on the clock for the 24 hour system. Seeing that the USA didn’t change over, I think we might as well have left in alone too — not that I really mind, though.
ReplyDeleteThey emphasized the wrong thing. they kept trying to teach conversion rather than the system itself.
DeleteNo metric system here, but now I'm wondering if we'll ever move in that direction someday. I had no idea that our system of measure here in the US was called Imperial... that sounds so British to me. LOL.
ReplyDeleteBoth Canada and the US will have to use the metric system sooner or later.
DeleteI worked as a public health nurse for years and noticed that many new parents wanted their babies' birth weights in imperial pounds/ounces. These parents would surely have been schooled in the metric system.
ReplyDeleteThe pound bathroom scale is still around. Metric bathroom scales are not that common.
DeleteI learnt baby weights in lb & oz long before kg, even though I did everything else in kilos.
DeleteI believe it's taken so long to change that because we only talk about baby weights when a child is born within our circle. it's not such a daily measurement as say a kilo of sausages
I am not good at using the metric system at all. Luckily, I can just google whatever system you use to find the answer I am looking for. So really, I never have to learn the metric system.
ReplyDeleteDoing this, you will become familiar with the system.
DeleteI remember learning the metric system in elementary school in the 1970s, when Carter was president. This was in preparation for the USA to change over. But then Reagan became president and we never did make the switch. (I'm not 100 percent sure it was Reagan's decision not to change but it was within his era.)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that the US had made a decision to go metric. The same political situation happened here to muddy the waters.
DeleteI'm ok with both. With the metrics, I'm not exact but I'm close enough.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to exact a you're not in a lab or commerce. You'd know it somebody was ripping you off.
DeleteI wish the U.S. would convert to the metric system although I think now there's not enough time left for me to learn it! So it goes.
ReplyDeleteWe are going to have to go kicking and screaming into the metric system. Us old boys will not live long enough to see the change.
DeleteI wish I was better at the metric system, but I am learning. I know a lot more about it than I did before I started blogging, that's for sure. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have to know very much to survive.
DeleteInteresting post, Red. As I was reflecting on this, I seemed to recall the USA getting close to going metric. I looked it up on "Mr Google" and found an excellent article explaining the whole thing. It was back in 1977 that President Ford signed the Metric Conversion Act into law. Legally, it is the "preferred" system here in the US. Trouble is, it is voluntary, and it just never took hold.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2022/06/12/politics/america-metric-system/
I can only approximate temps in Celsius. I don't think in the metric system at all, except when it comes to track and field events.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with metric, but there are certain things, like height, that are still imperial.
ReplyDeleteI think the change will be complete when all the older people pass on.
DeleteI think metric is better, but like knowing a yard of fabric is the distance from the king's nose to this extended fingertips.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with fabric is that so many things are in the Imperial system to handle the fabric that it's difficult.
ReplyDeleteGreat Britain must have switched to the metric system around the same time as Canada. Full "ownership" has not yet been achieved. We still measure distances in miles and body weight is not commonly measured in kilograms. We still report it in stones and pounds. My thirty something kids are much more comfortable with metric measurements than I am.
ReplyDeleteI am married to a scientist, so when I have a problem with the numbers, I ask him!
ReplyDeletePerhaps because I'm an engineer, I'm well versed in both. Most of my studies in college were in metric and I shuddered whenever I had to do a problem in Imperial such as involving BTU's, horsepower, etc. I have always thought the last of us holdouts should convert to metric and be a global society with one set of units. But given the political nature of the subject these days, I would be surprised if anyone alive now will live to see the day. Sure it would be a struggle for the living. I can look at a bolt head and see immediately that I need a 9/16" wrench but wouldn't know the difference between 12 or 13 mm if a gun was pointed at my head. But I do know I would rather have only one set of wrenches and be guessing than where I am today in needing to sets of wrenches to work on just about anything.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for conversions online. My older friends and relatives overseas are confused when I write Fahrenheit, so I always convert before I write. And I like to know these things too. I am also married to a brainy bonce so if I need extra help, I ask him if I can't find it by researching.
ReplyDeleteHope you will forgive my ignorance over the matter. I will try to search about this on google sooner or later
ReplyDeleteThanks for link I enjoyed reading her.
We write temperature here in "centigrade"
When I started teaching in IL in 2004, they were introducing the metric system in our 1st grade lessons. We were told it was to prepare the children for the conversion when the U.S. joined the rest of the world. I see it really hasn't happened. I wonder if they're still teaching it to the kids.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about metric but I can convert F to C eh!
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